Three days later, Li Zhi took two thousand taels of silver notes and walked into the governor's Yamen with Xu Mince. There was a tradition for officials in the Ming Dynasty not to build Yamen. Although the Yamen was large, the building was very dilapidated and looked dilapidated.
It's worse than Li Zhi's shabby yard.
In the second hall, Li Zhi met He Shishou, the powerful governor of Tianjin.
He Shishou looked to be about fifty or sixty years old, very thin, with white hair and beard on his thin face. However, he was wearing a third-grade official robe with peacock patches embroidered on his chest, which made his thin body look more attractive.
Quite majestic.
Xu Mince is He Shishou's nephew. When he saw He Shishou, he didn't have to kneel down. He just bowed and sang: "I've met my uncle!"
Li Zhi did not dare to neglect, he knelt on the ground and said: "Little citizen Li Zhi has met the governor!"
"No gift!"
He Shishou said no gift, and Li Zhi got up and handed over the banknote in his hand.
"This is Xiaomin's little thought!"
He Shishou looked at the amount on the banknote, nodded, and put the banknote aside.
Seeing He Shishou nodded, obviously in a good mood, Xu Mince interjected: "My little brother is in the soap business in Tianjin City. The soaps in Tianjin and the capital are all supplied by his family."
"Oh?" He Shishou became interested after hearing Xu Mince's words. He turned his head and asked Li Zhi: "Did you make the soap?"
The governor had a high position and had many eyes and ears, so it was not a good thing to deceive the governor. Li Zhi gave the governor money, expecting that He Shishou would not seek his own property again, so he answered honestly: "I did it."
Hearing Li Zhi admit that he made the soap himself, Xu Mince glanced at Li Zhi lightly and said nothing.
He Shishou nodded and then said: "Sit down!"
Li Zhi and Xu Mince were free and sat on the chairs. They heard He Shishou say: "Soap is indeed a good thing. If nothing else, let's just say that the hair of the servants and subordinates in the yamen is used.
After using soap, I washed them clean. They are no longer oily and covered in lice like before, and I feel better looking at them!"
He Shishou has grown old and his hair is no longer greasy, but his servants still have greasy hair and are infested with lice, which must be an eyesore. With soap, the greasy hair can be washed clean and look fresh.
There are no more worries about lice. Apparently the governor is very satisfied with the function of soap.
If nothing else, it at least makes the people in the governor's office more decent.
He Shishou added: "I heard from my colleagues in the capital that even the emperor used this soap and praised it full of praise! Li Zhi, you have done a great job in making this soap!"
Li Zhi had long heard from Cui Wending that the eunuchs in the imperial city bought two thousand pieces of soap from Cui Wending every month. So when the governor said that the emperor also used his soap, he was not very surprised, and just replied lightly: "Your Excellency Fuchen
Miao likes it!"
He Shishou nodded, raised his hands and bowed in the direction of the capital and said: "Nowadays, treacherous officials are in power and gentlemen are avoiding the way. We and other ministers are incompetent. We cannot exorcise evil spirits and eliminate the traitors and cannot quell the chaos. However, it is good if we can use something as a holy thing to share our worries."
Putting down his fists, He Shishou said: "So I say, you have contributed to the soap industry!"
The governor accepted bribes, but he did so with such justice and majesty. It gave Li Zhi a new understanding of the officialdom in the late Ming Dynasty. It seems that the governor regarded himself as a gentleman and was very dissatisfied with the current officialdom. Could it be that the so-called treacherous ministers are in power?
Are you saying that the current prime minister is a traitor?
Li Zhi couldn't figure out the official affairs for a while.
As for He Shishou saying that Li Zhi had meritorious service, he would not reward Li Zhi with anything, and it was just an empty talk. Li Zhi cursed in his heart, but replied: "The governor has given me a reward!"
He Shishou narrowed his eyes and said calmly: "If someone wants to gain your property in the future and is harmful to you, you can come to me."
This sentence is the key! Hearing this, Li Zhi felt happy, as if he had received a reassurance. The most powerful governor in Tianjin, with the words of the governor, he would no longer be afraid of anyone coming to his door in the future.
After saying this, He Shishou shouted loudly outside the court: "Deacon Sun, come here!"
Hearing He Shishou's call, a shrunken middle-aged man wearing a melon cap ran in from outside the hall, knelt on the ground and said, "Master, please call me!"
He Shishou pointed at Deacon Sun and said: "This is Deacon Sun in my house. If you are in a hurry, little friend Li, just find Deacon Sun and you can see me!"
Li Zhi agreed and met with Deacon Sun.
After saying this, He Shishou stopped talking, picked up the tea cup and took a sip. Li Zhi knew that he was about to see off the guests, so he quickly left. Xu Mince remained in the hall, discussing something with He Shishou, and what about Deacon Sun and Li
Zhi walked out together.
The two of them walked out of the second hall. Li Zhi took out five taels of silver from his arms and stuffed them into Deacon Sun's arms.
"Deacon Sun, this is so polite!"
Deacon Sun got the money, and immediately with a smile on his face, he replied: "Brother Li, it's easy to talk! If you have something to do in the future, just come to me, Sun Youmin, in the Yamen!"
Although sending two thousand taels of silver to the governor made Li Zhi very heartbroken, with the governor's support, Li Zhi felt at ease. He was no longer afraid that someone would come looking for trouble and he would be unable to resist.
After pacifying the governor, Li Zhi will go all out to develop the weaving factory.
In mid-March, the factory building built on the yellow mud in the east of the city has been completed. The 1,200-square-meter factory building is very solid and surrounded by a high wall, which meets Li Zhi's confidentiality needs. The shuttle equipment
The manufacturing workload is small and has already been completed, so Li Zhi does not need to worry about it. The woodworking of the loom has also entered the final stage. More than 300 of the 400 looms have been completed, and they will be completed in a few days.
.
Li Zhi began to search for suitable cotton yarn suppliers and cotton cloth buyers in the market.
It happened that on this day, Cui Wending came to Li Zhi to purchase goods and settle accounts, and sat at Li Zhi's house for a while.
"What are you busy with these days? I heard that you built a big house outside the city?"
"I am building a weaving workshop and employing hundreds of people to weave cotton cloth."
"Oh?" Cui Wending was very curious about Li Zhi's words. He didn't know why Li Zhi suddenly entered the weaving industry that he was unfamiliar with, and asked curiously: "Are you also interested in the cotton weaving industry?"
"I have some experience and slightly improved the efficiency of the loom."
Anyway, as soon as the weaving factory opens and the products are produced, the news about Li Zhi's improved loom will definitely spread. Cui Wending is his old customer, and Li Zhi has nothing to hide from him.
After a pause, Li Zhi continued: "I just haven't found a big cotton yarn supplier or cotton cloth purchaser yet. I don't know where I can buy cheap cotton yarn and where I can sell cloth conveniently."
There are many small cotton yarn suppliers and cotton cloth purchasers in the market, and Li Zhi’s mother, Zheng, knew them. However, these merchants are small retailers, and they buy and sell goods at retail prices. They have to pay for goods in and out.
A certain profit was charged. The profit was plundered by these retailers, which was very uneconomical for Li Zhi, who operated on a large scale, so he had to find a large wholesaler to minimize the price difference between the purchase and sale of goods.
